Kirk gets lost in space while looking for the nearest Trek convention.

To be honest, I remember this movie being absolutely dreadful. Still, when I heard of the Director's Edition, which updates some of the FX and trims the editing, I knew I had to give it a chance.

Basically, the problem with "The Motion Picture" is that it's not "Star Trek" at all, but some half-baked "2001" knock off, which just by chance has characters named kirk, Spock and so on. Really, that's about it. The good news is despite this the film (or at least this restored print) is quite enjoyable... once the first 45 minutes in which absolutely nothing happens are through.

The script is rather short in ideas and falls apart before the credits roll, but on the other hand you have a top notch image and music experience. Which, ironically, may be the most realistic approach to a film about space exploration. Hell, even Robert Wise manages to film a couple of great scenes and to give them some kind of tension. They are the failed teleportation of some crew members and Spock's spacewalk.

But of course the main defects of the film are still there in all its glory. I found specially infuriating the series of dialogues on board of the Enterprise. The have no tension at all, and the acting gives new meanings to the word wooden. Really, they talk about lots of important stuff the way people talk about brands of coffee after a meal. Boooooring.

But then, if you can abstract (or teleport) yourself out of those scenes and focus on the visuals and Jerry Goldsmith's majestic score, it's a must see. That's not the case, however, with the original version. I'd rather listen to William Shatner's rendition of "Hit me baby one more time".

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNN!!!!!

A lot of changes were made by the time the second Star Trek movie was released, and most of them were possitive.

First of all, let me say that Nicholas Meyer is overrated. Alright, I agree his "Star Trek" output is easily among the best in the series, but there's ample proof that he's not exactly as talented as Trekkies sustain. To be exact, all his other non-Trek movies.

But anyway, we should thank him, because despite the brutal cuts in budget and the aging actors "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" manages to solve most of the problems of its predecesor. First of all, it is "Star Trek". Which is something, really. And then the acting is much better. Not that all is fine and dandy (Kirk's "Khan" moment had me cracking up), but at least Kirk is no longer the ice cold annoying bastard he was in "The Motion Picture". He is far more humanised, and the script even provides some discernible conflicts he has to solve before the credits roll.

Anyway, the piece of resistance here is Ricardo Montalban. He's easily the best villain in the series. Not only he gets the chance to outsmart Kirk a few times, but at the same time he's so flamboyant and over the top that he delivers the cheese whenever that's required. And it is required, as the exchanges between the other characters are rather dry. He's a hoot to watch, and some of his lines are instant quotes. Great stuff, really, even when he's delivering expository stuff to a bewildered Chejov.

As for Nicholas Meyer... he does an OK job, but not a memorable one. I liked the way he made Kirk look like an ancient sailor a la Nelson, although a few times he was pushing it too far, like when Kirk visits the sick bay after the first battle. My real problem with Meyer, however, is his camerawork, I expected something more dinamic, and instead he uses too many static shots. These work well on certain moments, like the battle in the nebula (it's sort of refreshing to see a battle where you can actually tell what's going on), but in other moments it only made more evident the poor dialogue and the cheapness of the settings.

And now, as promised, William Shatner and "Hit me baby one more time":

« Last Edit: July 16, 2007, 05:57:05 AM by Neville »

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Due to the horrifying nature of this film, no one will be admitted to the theatre.

Anyway, the piece of resistance here is Ricardo Montalban. He's easily the best villain in the series. Not only he gets the chance to outsmart Kirk a few times, but at the same time he's so flamboyant and over the top that he delivers the cheese whenever that's required. And it is required, as the exchanges between the other characters are rather dry. He's a hoot to watch, and some of his lines are instant quotes. Great stuff, really, even when he's delivering expository stuff to a bewildered Chejov.

I've always liked the second movie. The story was interesting, the space battles were fun, and Montalban is awesome as Khan. Plus, he inspires Kirk to new heights, and that is saying something when you are dealing with Kirk's normal ego and character. Still, Khan is a poet, a passionate criminal mastermind, and he has that big, fake man chest peeking out!

Khan is one of my favorite anti-heroes, now that you get me to thinking about it.

ST The Motion Picture came out when I was in 7th grade and not that familiar with the original series. We stood in line to watch it and I was pretty disappointed. I will say, though, that there is some dialog from Spock in the Director's Cut, after he mind-melded with V-ger, that was incredible - it gave as good an insight as I ever saw into Spock's character. I remember him saying "I weep for Vger as I would for a brother . . ."

KHAN is the best of the original Star Trek movies, and is better than any of the new ones EXCEPT Star Trek: First Contact. I LOVED that movie!!!!

I for one prefer Star Trek: The Motion Picture over the Wrath of Khan.

The Motion Picture is pure science fiction. No of that melodramatic crap that tends to invade modern day sci-fi. No unnessessary action scenes. Just pure science fiction. In terms of it being Star Trek, I say the motion picture was more of a Trek film than The Wrath of khan was. And I thought the dialog and the acting were great. Its a movie that explores the ultimate question. Why are we here?

The Wrath of Khan was okay, but it hasn't really aged well in my opinion. First off, its very cheap compared to The Motion Picture, and Khan and his cronies look like an 80s hair band. The Wrath of Khan was more of an attempt to capture the Star Wars crowd.

I for one prefer Star Trek: The Motion Picture over the Wrath of Khan.

The Motion Picture is pure science fiction. No of that melodramatic crap that tends to invade modern day sci-fi. No unnessessary action scenes. Just pure science fiction. In terms of it being Star Trek, I say the motion picture was more of a Trek film than The Wrath of khan was. And I thought the dialog and the acting were great. Its a movie that explores the ultimate question. Why are we here?

The Wrath of Khan was okay, but it hasn't really aged well in my opinion. First off, its very cheap compared to The Motion Picture, and Khan and his cronies look like an 80s hair band. The Wrath of Khan was more of an attempt to capture the Star Wars crowd.

When we moved into our house,out in the garage was a box of vhs tapes. In it was DRAGNET (the movie with Dan Akroyd),AIRPLANE, Two Indiana Jones movies,and a whole messa STAR TREK movies. The only one in the series that wasn't in it was KHAN. Well,I unpacked the 2 comedys,and the Indian jones films,and the STAR TREK movies still sit in the box. Also in the box were some taped episodes of the newer STAR TREK series TV shows. And some Jeopardy (?) game shows. It would have been great if the movie fan who lived here before had been a monster movie freak...but nooooooooo.....(sigh)

Anyway, the piece of resistance here is Ricardo Montalban. He's easily the best villain in the series. Not only he gets the chance to outsmart Kirk a few times, but at the same time he's so flamboyant and over the top that he delivers the cheese whenever that's required. And it is required, as the exchanges between the other characters are rather dry. He's a hoot to watch, and some of his lines are instant quotes. Great stuff, really, even when he's delivering expository stuff to a bewildered Chejov.

I've always liked the second movie. The story was interesting, the space battles were fun, and Montalban is awesome as Khan. Plus, he inspires Kirk to new heights, and that is saying something when you are dealing with Kirk's normal ego and character. Still, Khan is a poet, a passionate criminal mastermind, and he has that big, fake man chest peeking out!

Khan is one of my favorite anti-heroes, now that you get me to thinking about it.

"Khhhhhhaaaaaaaannnnnn!"

Not to mention a tragic past and a wig that makes him look like Rod Stewart. Way cool! Only Malcolm McDowell in "Generations" comes close in his villain-ness.

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Due to the horrifying nature of this film, no one will be admitted to the theatre.

The Motion Picture is pure science fiction. No of that melodramatic crap that tends to invade modern day sci-fi. No unnessessary action scenes. Just pure science fiction. In terms of it being Star Trek, I say the motion picture was more of a Trek film than The Wrath of khan was.

Especially true considering how much it resembled the episode "The Changeling" from the original series.

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I just rewatched both of these recently when I bought all ten Star Trek movies from Deep Discount when they were having that sale back in June.

I've seen TMP so many times that it's hard to stay awake while watching it. It has ended up being the odd duck of the franchise. It basically shows what happens when you start making a movie without a finished script . They also had to fire the first effects company and had to rush the film out the door. The copies were overnighted to the theaters literally the night before the release date.

The biggest disappointment is the acting and the direction. The chemistry between the three leads is totally missing. I really expected more out of Robert Wise.

Star Trek II is probably the best of the TOS movies. The battle in the nebula is some great work by ILM on a shoestring budget. I don't think the movie shows it's age at all.